


A Birthday Surprise

by CherieoftheDragons (SignCherie), SignCherie



Series: INKquisition [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, F/M, Fluff, INKquisition verse, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-21 10:51:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4826351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SignCherie/pseuds/CherieoftheDragons, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SignCherie/pseuds/SignCherie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mirevas tells Blackwall she’s pregnant.</p>
<p>INKquisition-verse modern AU. For a prompt by rainier-skies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Birthday Surprise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rainier_skies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainier_skies/gifts).



Something was wrong, and it was bad.

At first Thom thought Mirevas was avoiding him because she had something in the works for his birthday. It would be just like her to plan a surprise party, but no, that wasn’t it. If she were planning a party, he would know it well in advance by her knowing smiles and smug grins. 

No, it wasn’t a surprise party. It was something worse.

It had started yesterday morning. He awoke to find her already awake, sitting on the couch and staring at the floor, biting her lip distractedly.

“Everything all right?” he’d said.

Mirevas jumped three feet in the air. “Yes, fine! Why wouldn’t it be all right?”

Thom hesitated. “You look like you’ve just lost your puppy.”

“No! I’m fine. Everything’s fine. I, um. I should go. Lots of paperwork to do at the shop before it opens.”

She stood, hurried towards him, planting one quick peck on his cheek before flying out the door.

That was yesterday. She’d been gone all day, not coming home until Thom was already in bed. Then she tiptoed in, changed into her nightclothes quietly, and climbed into bed, lying about as far away from him as she possibly could.

Thom rolled over, putting an arm around her, and she flinched.

Slowly, he pulled his arm back.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmm? Nothing’s wrong.”

Her denial scared him more than her behavior did. “Have I--is it something I did?”

“What?” She sat up at that, squinting at him in the dark. Then she softened, scooting closer to him, laying her head on his chest. “Of course not. Everything’s fine. Honest.”

He wanted to believe her, but he could hear the lie in her voice. Despite her embrace, he could feel the tension in her body that said she wasn’t quite comfortable.

Something was going on, and she didn’t want him to know.

\----------

The next morning was more of the same. She got up early, left for work early, and barely said two words to him.

He tried not to let his imagination run away with him, but he couldn’t stop his thoughts from turning to the worst. Was this it? Had she finally figured out how worthless he was? Was she getting ready to leave him?

They’d been married three years, but he’d never fully gotten over the fear of losing her. And despite all the therapy he’d been through to rebuild his confidence in himself, he didn’t think that fear would ever go away.

At work, he went through the motions mechanically, hardly thinking about what he was doing. Change spark plugs. Fix radiator belt. Replace brake pads. All the while, his mind was on Mirevas and what she might be hiding.

\----------

She was waiting for him when he got home. 

Thom stopped just inside the door. Mirevas stood in the center of the living room, looking down, turning what looked like a greeting card over and over in her hands.

Thom closed the door softly behind him and just looked at her.

Mirevas took a breath. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

His blood ran cold. “Oh?”

She exhaled shakily. “I thought I might wait until your birthday tomorrow, but then -- I don’t think I can wait that long.”

“You can tell me anything,” Thom said softly.

Mirevas nodded. Without meeting his eyes, she held out the card.

Thom took it with trepidation. Had she written something in his birthday card? His fingers trembled as he opened the envelope.

On the front of the card, in flowing script, were the words _Congratulations to a New Daddy._

He almost dropped it.

Mirevas rushed forward immediately, taking him by the arm. “Are you all right?”

Thom’s head swam. “I think you got me the wrong card for my birthday.”

She bit her lip. “It’s not a birthday card.”

“No, it’s not.” He looked at it again. The words hadn’t changed. _Congratulations to a New Daddy._

“Thom?”

“I think I need to sit down.”

She guided him to the couch, sitting next to him, watching him with worried eyes.

A baby? They’d talked about kids before, but always in a “someday” kind of way. It had actually worried him, that “someday.” He was getting older all the time, and if they put it off too long, he might be too old to properly raise a child. He’d been thinking of broaching the subject to her, hoping they might start trying, but he’d been too nervous to say anything. She was so young, and it was such a huge thing to ask of her --

But she was pregnant. They were going to have a child.

Suddenly, he couldn’t hold back his emotions. His heart was threatening to burst. He put his head in his hands, laughing and crying at the same time.

He was going to be a daddy.

Mirevas didn’t look any less worried. “I know -- we haven’t talked seriously about it. I hope that you -- that we -- that the baby --”

Thom lifted his head, unable to stop smiling through his tears. “Really? A baby?”

She blinked uncertainly at him, hope dawning in her eyes. “You’re happy?”

“Oh, Mirevas.” He reached for her, and she melted into his embrace. A baby. Thom pressed his cheek against the top of her head. “There’s nothing I want more.”

She made a small noise, and her arms came up to encircle his waist. “Me, too.”

Thom thought of something and pulled back quickly. “Mirevas.”

Her worry was back. “What is it, Thom?”

Thom could hardly contain his excitement. “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”

Mirevas laughed in surprise. “I think it’s a little too early to tell.”

Yes. He was being silly. “I know, I know.” Still. “I think it’s a girl.”

She laughed harder. “Okay, Thom.”

“I’m going to teach her how to fix cars.”

“I think you should.”

Gently, Thom moved his hand to rest on Mirevas’s flat stomach. “We’re going to be parents?”

“We are.”

All Thom could think of was how very blessed he was, and it was all because of Mirevas. Mirevas, who’d looked at a broken ruin of a man and seen someone worth loving. Mirevas, who’d taken him into her heart without question. Mirevas, who’d learned the worst about him and accepted him anyway. Everything he had, he owed to her. And now she’d given him the greatest gift he could ever have hoped for.

“I love you,” he said.

She leaned back to press a soft, sweet kiss to his lips. “I love you, too.”


End file.
